Cockney Rebel were the second headline band I ever saw live. At York University in June 1974. (more…)

No sooner had the full falsetto horrror of The Rubettes begun to fade than along came another rock’n’roll revival outfit – the equally abysmal Showaddywaddy. (more…)

In 1974 I was a boy of 16 and I cannot say I ever consciously listened to the Bay City Rollers. It was different for girls. And a few boys. (more…)

Fingers in your ears for the shrillest falsetto ever heard. And a song that those of us who had the misfortune to hear at the time will never be able to forget. But don’t blame the “singer” – it’s not him singing. (more…)

When it came to Slade, the last thing you looked for was something slow, sensitive and sentimental. Especially after they spent Christmas 1973 at the top of the charts with the raucous Merry Christmas Everybody. But a few months later along came this elegiac piano ballad.

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This sentimental morality tale has stuck in my head for nearly half a century and still exerts a powerful pull on my emotions. (more…)

Terry Jacks’ chart-topping translation of a Jacques Brel song made the top three tunes all ‘death discs’ in April 1974. (more…)

This unashamed tearjerker is one of my favourite songs of all time,. It’s also one of the saddest – a devastating tale of first love, broken dreams, depression and suicide. (more…)